>My response is to write glowing recommendations for anyone that asks me. I find this to be very unethical. LoR's should be an honest accounting of the merits

>My response is to write glowing recommendations for anyone that asks me. I find this to be very unethical. LoR's should be an honest accounting of the merits, flaws, and accomplishments of the subject - writing a strongly positive LoR for a subpar student harms the community by subverting meritocratic admissions, may harm the subject by placing them into a position they are unsuited for, and can possibly harm other, more qualified students by having the subpar one occupy a slot in a place-limited program that would otherwise be filled by a "better" student. It may also harm your own career and students - if you get a reputation as someone who always gives out good recommendations even to subpar students, then it may reflect poorly on you. More importantly, it may harm your students - if you're known for giving good LoRs to mediocre students then it becomes impossible for you to give a good LoR to good students and have them taken seriously. I urge you to reconsider this practice.